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MEMORIAL 



Organization and First Re-union 



New York Association 



Pixmilton ^Ixtmiii. 



NEW YORK: 

KILBOURNE TOMPKINS, BOOK AND COMMERCIAL PRINTER, 

16 Cedar Street, bet. William and Pearl. 

1869. 

<..g^ — '■ ' <\^!> 



MEMORIAL 



Organization and First Re-nnion 



New York A_ssociatio 



N 



lamrlton ^luntm 



NEW YORK : 

KILBOURNE TOMPKINS, BOOK AND COMMERCIAL PRINTER. 

Ifi Cedar Street, bbt. William and Pearl. 

1869. 



klj^ 



01 



I^jEW YOHi» ruo«. 



C7 



am^atxDn of tbe f.ss0riatton. 



For some years past the desire lias been general among the 
graduates of Hamilton, residing in and about New York city, 
to form a local organization of the Alumni ; but, save in private 
conversation and correspondence, it has found no expression 
until quite recently. The first open effort to give it shape and 
body appeared in the following circular : 

To 

Dear Sir : 

A preliminary meeting of tlie Alumni of Hamilton College resi- 
dent in New York City and its vicinity, will be held at No. 37 Lafayette 
Place, on Thursday, December 17th, 1868, at 8 o'clock, P. M., for the pur- 
pose of organizing a local Alumni Association, and arranging for an annual 

re-union. 

Please attend, if possible, and communicate whatever information you 
can obtain relative to the address of any of the Alumni in this vicinity 
whom you may know, to Isaac H. Hall, Esq., No. 86 Pine Street, or to Elihu 
Root, Esq., No. 43 Pine Street, New York City. 

New York, December 12th, 1868. 

THEODORE W. DWIGHT. 
THO.AIAS S. HASTINGS. 
EDWIX C. LITCHFIELD. 
CHAKLES P. KIRKLAXD. 
F. F. ELLIN WOOD, and ot Iris. 

This circular was sent to each alumnus residing in and about 
the city, whose address could be ascertained, and notices of the 
meeting were also inserted in the various daily newspapers. 

In compliance with this call, a number of the Alumni met 
in the evening of December 17th, 1868, in the lower lecture- 
room of the Columbia Law School. After some time spent 
in informal conversation, the meeting was called to order by 
Isaac H. Hall, of the class of 1859. Prof Theodore W. Dwight, 
LL. D., of the class of 1840. wi\^ elected chairman, and Isaac 
H. Hall, secretary. After an address by the chairman, setting 



4 RE-UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

forth tlie objects of the meeting, and proceedings had in due 
form, with spirited and pleasant addresses by Kev. Pres. Brown, 
Gen. John Cochrane, Rev. Drs. Kendall and Hastings, and 
others, it was decided to form The New York Association 
OF Hamilton Alumni, to consist of graduates, recipients of 
honorary or ad eundem degrees, and those students of Hamilton 
who have not completed a collegiate course. The following 
officers were elected : 

CHARLES P. KIRKLAND, LL. D., ('16), President. 

THEODORE W. DWIGHT, LL. D., ('40), ^ 

JOHN COCHRANE, ('31), 

JOSEPH S. BOSWORTH, LL. D., ('2fi), , Vice- President.. 

EDWIN C. LITCHFIELD, ('32), 

Rev. TUOMAS S. HASTINGS, D. D. ('48), 

Rev. HENRY KENDALL, D. D., ('40), J 

ALEXANDER SPAULDING, ('46), Treasurer, 

ISAAC H, HALL, ('59), Corresponding Secretary, 

ELIHU ROOT, ('64), Recording Secretary, 

THEODORE W. DWIGHT, ('40), ^ 

JOHN N. POMEROY, ('47), 

ALEXANDER SPAULDING, ('46), 

EMMONS CLARK, ('47), 

ASAHEL N. BROCKWAY, ('57), 

GEORGE S. HASTINGS, ('57), 

ISAAC H. HALL, ('59), 

ELIHU ROOT, ('64), 

it was also decided to have a re-union and dinner on either 
the 14th or 21st of January, 1869, leaving the details of ar- 
rangement to the Executive Committee. 

The Alumni present at this preliminary meeting, so far as 
ascertained, were the following : Gen. John Cochrane, '31 ; 
Kev. Parsons C. Hastings, 38 ; Dr. Joseph M. Turner, '38 ; 
Theodore W. Dwight, LL. D., '40; Edwards Hall, M. D., '40: 
Rev. Dr. Henry Kendall, '40 ; Rev. D. A. Holbrook, '44 : 
Dwight H. Olmstead, Esq., '46; Alexander Spaulding, Esq., 
'46 ; Col. Emmons Clark, '47 ; Prof John N. Pomeroy, LL. D., 
'47; Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Hastings, '48; Alvan Tenney, Esq., 
"49; Prof David H. Cochran, Ph. D., '50 ; Col. Daniel W. 
Gillett, '50 ; Dr. Cornelius E. Billington, '54 ; Prof Henry B. 
Millard, M. D., '55 ; James S. Baker, Esq., '57 ; Dr. Asaliel N. 



Executive Voimnittee. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSOCIATION. O 

Brockway, '57 ; Col. George S. Hastings, '57 ; Isaac H. Hall, 
Esq., '59 : James S. Grreves, Esq., '61 ; Eev. Benjamin F. Miller, 
'62 ; Rev. Amos H. Dean, '64; Elihu Root, Esq., '64; Chester 
Huntington, ^Q6 ; Rev. Charles Simpson, ^6ii ; Sydney A. Sher- 
win, '67 ; Charles E. Rice, '67 ; William R. Jerome, '68 ; James 
H. Willard, '68. Many, also, who were absent in body, sent 
warm-hearted letters to evince their presence in spirit. 

The Executive Committee immediately set about preparing 
for the re-union, and soon issued, and sent to each living alum- 
nus, whose address they could learn, the following circular : 

To 

Dear Sir, 

Pursuant to a call issued by circular and by notices in the daily 
papers, a number of the alumni of Hamilton College, resident in this city 
and neighborhood, met at No. 37 Lafayette Place on the 17th inst., to form a 
local organization and arrange for an annual re-union. 

The meeting was quite large, well representing the character and position 
of the alumni in and about the city, and was the occasion of many gratifying 
surprises and renewals of younger friendships, and altogether very cordial 
and pleasant. Both the addresses of those present, and letters from absent 
ones, evinced the most favorable feeling, and expressed an unqualified wish 
that the design of the meeting might be most fully carried out. 

An association was formed, to consist of graduates, recipients of ad eundem 
or honorary degrees, and those students of Hamilton who have not com- 
pleted a collegiate course. Officers and a committee were appointed, a list 
of whose names appears on the reverse of this circular. The object of the 
association is purely social and friendly, and everything tending to use it as 
a financial agent of the College will be excluded. 

The First Re-union of the New York Association of Hamilton Alumni is 
to take place on Thursday evening, January 21st, 1869, at the Astor House, 
in this city. 

The association will meet at six o'clock p. m., for a business meeting. Seven 
o'clock p. M. is the hour for the dinner and re-union. 

The price of tickets for the dinner is eight dollars. Please remit the price 
of your tickets, or any number of tickets you may wish for your friends of 
the alumni, to Alexander Spaulding, Esq., No. 937 Broadway, corner of 22d 
Street, New York, or to any member of the Executive Committee. The 
tickets will be forwarded, and provision made for the specified number, im- 
mediately upon receipt of the price. 



6 KE-UNION OF HAMILTON AI,UMNT. 

It is hoped that no engagement will be thought too pressing, and no dis- 
tance from the city too great, to prevent your sharing in and contriljuting to 
the enjoyment of the occasion. 

New York, December 32d, 1868. 



J- Executive VoimniUee. 



TFIEODORE W. DWIGHT, 

JNO. N. POMEROY. 

ALEXANDER SPAULDING. 

EMMONS CLARK, 

A. N. BROCKWAY, 

GEO. S. HASTINGS. j 

ISAAC H. HALL. 

ELIHU ROOT. * I 

To this circular, as to all the efforts of the committee, the 
Alumni made generous response, and they very materially light- 
ened the tasks, and removed embarrassments of the committee, 
with substantial aid, and tokens of unfeigned and enthusiastic 
good feeling. 



Cbe Ee- union. 



As announced by the circular of the committee, the first 
annual re-union of the New York Association of Hamilton 
Alumni took place at the Astor House, in the evening of Janu- 
ary 21st, 1869. 

The guests assembled in one of the hotel parlors at six o'clock, 
and spent a most pleasant hour in social converse, recalling old 
times and scenes, and learning anew the old faces. At a little 
after seven the}' proceeded to the dining ball, and took their 
places at the table by mutual affinity, which resulted in an ar- 
rangement very nearly identical with the order of graduation. 

As nearly as can now be ascertained, tlie list of guests was 
as follows: Charles P. Kirkland, LL. D., '16; Daniel Le Roy, 

■" 'i'lie reverse of tliis circular contained a list of the officers of the associa- 
tion, witli a list of all the names and addresses, so far as known, of the 
alumni residing in the city and vicinity, which it is not necessary to re-pro- 
duce here. 



ADDRESS OF MR. KIRKLAND. 7 

Esq., '17 ; Samuel K. Kip, Esq., '23 ; Kev. Joel Parker, D. D., 
'24; Pres. Samuel G. Brown, D. D., LL. D. ; Prof. Edward 
North, '41 ; Rev. A.sa S. Colton, '27 ; John H. Healy, '66 ; 
William R. Jerome, Esq., '68 ; Rev. Frederick J. Jackson, '43 ; 
Rev; N. W. Goertner, D. D. ; Rev. Henry A. Nelson, D. D., 
'40; Prof. Theodore W. Dwight, LL. D., '40; Dr. Edwards 
Hall, '40; Rev. Henry Kendall, D. D., '40; Gen. John Coch- 
rane, '31 ; Edwin C. Litchheld, Esq., '32 ; Dr. Joseph M. Turner, 
'38 ; Rev. Thomas S. Hastings, D. D.. '48 ; Charles J. Lowrey, 
Esq., '41 ; Rev. D. A. Holbrook, '44 ; Alvan Tenney, Esq., '49 : 
Martin Hawley, Esq., '51 : Rev. Francis F. EUinwood, D. D., '49 ; 
D. Ogden Bradley, Esq., '48 ; Prof. E. W. Root, Ph. D., '62 ; 
Prof John K Pomeroy, LL. D. '47 ; Col. Emmons Clark, '47 ; 
Ex-Go V. Joseph R. Hawley, '47 ; John W. Bulkley, Esq., '53 ; 
Prof David H. Cochran, Ph. D., '50; James S. Greves, Esq., 
'61 ; Morris F. Sheppard, Esq., '65 ; George H. Starr, Esq., '61 ; 
George W. Hubbell, Esq., '67 ; Charles S. Hastings, Esq., '60 ; 
Rev. Foster Ely, '58; William D. Farlin, Esq., '64; R. A. 
Elmer, Esq., '64; Prof Henry B. Millard, M. D., '55; George 
W. B. Dakin, Esq., '53 ; Daniel Huntington, Esq., '36 ; James 
O. Morse, Esq.. '36 ; George W. Dillow, '68 ; Col. Jay E. Lee, 
'56 ; Dr. Asahel N. Brockway, '57 ; Col. George S. Hastings, 
'57 ; James S. Baker, Esq., '57 ; Henry P. Norton, Esq., '28 : 
Elihu Root, Esq., '64; Prof C. H. F. Peters, Ph. D. ; Isaac H. 
. Hall, Esq., '59 : Alexander Spaulding, Esq., '46 ; DuaneConant, 
Esq., '67. 

After a blessing asked by Rev. Joel Parker, D. D., a boun- 
teous meal was partaken of with duly appreciative appetites, 
while other appetites were quite as generously satisfied with 
provision much richer. After thanks returned by Rev. Asa S. 
Colton, the cloth was removed, and the tables were called to 
order by the President, Hon. Charles P. Kirkland, LL. D., 
who addressed the Alumni as follows : 

ADDRESS OF MR. KIRKLAND. 

Brethren of the Alumni : 

I thank you for the honor of being elected the first President 
of the "New York Association of Hamilton Alumni," though 



8 RE-UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

it is certain that the most ambitious among you would not be 
willing to acce])t the office on the ground to which I am in- 
debted for it, namely, seniority. ISTo contest existed for the 
office, inasmuch as no other could present his diploma with the 
date of September, 1816, and thus trace back the catalogue for 
upwards of half a century to find 1iis name. This distinction 
belonged to me alone; so without rivalry, and without even 
envy on the part of others, I became your President. 
■ I meet you at this, our first re-union, with sincere pleasure, 
surrounded by so large a number of brethren, many of them 
eminent among their fellow-citizens. 

This College had its origin in the enlightened and far-seeing 
mind of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, after whom one of its 
halls, and also tlie town of Kirkland were named.* The first 
term began in the fall of 1812. At the mature age of fourteen 
T entered the freshman class of that year. It had eighteen 
members, the sophomore six, the junior two, the senior none : 
but the paucity in numbers was compensated by our ideas of 
the dignity and importance of our new position. We regarded 

* This excellent man was an early patron of education, and a pioneer of 
Christianity in the western part of our State. He was born in Connecticut 
in 1741, received his preparatory education at Dr. Wheelock's Indian School 
in that State, and graduated at Princeton, in 17R5. He immediately became 
a missionary to the Oneida and the neighboring tribes of Indians, and was 
very successful in Christianizing that heathen people. Among his early con- 
verts was the famous chief Skenandoah, whose last wish was, " that he 
might be interred by the side of this, his father in the Lord, so that he might 
rise with him in the resurrection day." The wish was gratified, and tliey now 
lie side by side in the College grounds. Mr. Kirkland continued liis missionary 
labors during the whole of the war of the Revolution, and did good service 
to the American cause. In October 1791, he removed to the beautiful tract 
of land in Clinton, granted to him by the Indians and the State of New 
York, and on which his old family mansion still stands, near the foot of the 
College Hill. In 1793, h<' obtained a charter for the " Hamilton Oneida Aca- 
demy," and made it a valuable donation of land, embracing the present site 
of the College. In 1811, tlio Academy was converted into Hamilton College, 
which then received its charter ; and thus, in every i)ractical sense, he was 
the founder of our Alma Mater. He was the father of John Tliornton Kirk 
land, subsequently the beloved and distinguished jjivsident of Harvard Uni- 
versity. He died in Clinton in 180R, lamented by every friend of education 
and of Christianity. This slight tribute to liis memory is not inappropriate 
here. 



ADDRESS OF MR. KIRKLAND. 9 

ourselves as the equals in rank of the students of Oxford and 
Cambridge, of Harvard and Yale, and we put on airs and " cut 
up capers " accordingly. Before the college had attained the age 
of three years, a professor's windows were smashed, emeutes oc- 
curred in the Commons hall, admonitions from the faculty for 
violation of the rules as to card-playing and the like, and the 
rustication of five of my class-mates. This latter exercise of 
authority was deemed tyrannical, and led to the publication, in 
a newspaper in the village of Ithaca, of a very caustic attack 
by one of the •' sufferers," upon President Backus. Its author 
and his sympathizers took especial pains to send it to the pres- 
ident, and they had the satisfaction of knowing that it was 
very annoying to him and the other members of the faculty. 
Its authorship was not discovered till years afterwards. 

Dr. Backus was a man of genius, of the most kindly feelings. 
and very sensitive. He never preached to us without tears, 
nor censured a student without deep emotion. He disliked 
above all things attempts at " fine writing,'' and, on one occa- 
sion, when one of my classmates read for his composition a 
colloquy brilliant with wit, as he supposed, the president's sole 
criticism was, " there's no Attic salt in that ; nothing but shad 
brine." This occurred more than fifty years since, but it is as 
vivid in my mind as if it were an event of yesterday. The 
author of that colloquy still lives, a distinguished citizen of the 
State in which he resides. 

The second year of the College witnessed the birth of the Phoe- 
nix Society, and of its rival the Philopeuthean. The struggles 
between them were as fierce and as earnest with our fifty students 
as between the rival societies of Yale and Harvard, with their 
many hundreds. My devotion to the Phoenix was such, the 
necessity for a library so pressing, and my pecuniary means so 
small, that I took from my father's book-shelves, without his 
leave, the valuable '• Life of Fisher Ames," and presented it to 
my society, whei'e I trust it yet remains. When my father dis- 
covered the abstraction, he dismissed me merely with a gentle 
reprimand, on the ground that my excessive enthusiasm in a 
good cause led to, and at the same time atoned for the misdeed. 

The students of my day were divided into two sets : " the 



10 KE-rXlON OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

Steady fellows " and " the high Fellows: "' the latter Phoenicians, 
the former Philopeutheans, and to thePhilopeatheans belonged 
Edward Eobinson, whose name is as familiarly and favorably 
known in Europe and in Germany as in America, and Philo 
Gridley, an illustrious name in the jndiL-iarv of New York. 
Permit me to mention a pleasing incident that has (jccuri'ed 
just in time for this re-iini(nj. On the catalogne is the name of 
Zephaniah Platt, (jf the class of 1815 : he is now a citizen 
of South Carolina, and two years since wns elevated to the 
Bench ol' one of the highest Courts of that State. Yesterdav 
I received from him two opinions he had just delivered, and 
my legal brethren of the iVlumni will say that these opinions 
would have done no discredit to his eminent fatlier, Judge 
Platt. the worthy associate, in our Supreme Court, of Spencer. 
Thompson and Van Ness. We are proud of this, the oldest 
surviving graduate of Hamilton. 

The College possessed one '' institution " in rnv day. illus- 
trating the difference between the habits and customs of that 
time and of this. This " institution '" was called'" the buttery.'" 
It was in the basement of the College dining hall, and was 
well supplied <^\tli strong heei; cider, chewing tobacco and cigars, 
for the use of those students who could afford such luxuries. 
The profits on the sales were the perquisite of some worthy 
charitv student: it had the sanction of the trustees and of the 
faculty. The temperance men of this day will not untruly 
affirm that those guardians of morals and of virtue sanctioned, 
and indeed encouraged their wards in thesr incipient steps to 
intemperance, for no one now doubts that siroiirj beer\s an alcho- 
holic drink. That the '' buttery " actually produced those habits 
1 will not affirm, but I know that several of the most bril- 
liant of my fellow students sank into drunkards' graves before 
they attained majority. I felt my own danger, and made reso- 
lutions accordingly, and am happy to sa}^ that it is now forty- 
one years since I have tasted a single drop of ardent spirits. 
But do not too severely blame the men of that day, for many 
years afterwards (1833), at a meeting of the Oneida County 
Temperance Society, at Utica. a resolution to include wine, 
beer and cider in the temperance pledge, was deieated by a 



ADDRKSS OV MR. KIKKLAND. 11 

decisive majoritv : and the same year a Convention of the 
New York State Temperance Society was heh;l in the same 
city, on which occasion I invited to my dinner table a number 
of its members, and furnished them with good wine in abun- 
dance, and it was liberally partaken of by the guests, as well as 
the host. You will pardon these statements, as they relate to 
the times of the earlier Alumni. 

I have mentioned some of my contemporaries in the College : 
the mention of those subsequent I leave to others. But you 
will excuse me for saying, that I do not tind myself entirely 
solitary on this occasion, for on my left sits Daniel Le Eoy, a 
respected and honored citizen of New York, a graduate of 
1817. Nor can I do Justice to my feelings without mentioning 
a graduate of the class of 1832, to whom our Alma Mater owes a 
debt of lasting gratitude. The munificent donation of Edwin 
C. Litchfield established the Astronoxnical Observatory, and 
placed at its head Professor Peters, justly eminent among 
modern astronomers, and whose contributions to this sublime 
and beautiful science have given our College and our country 
fame in Europe. Tliis was a happy idea of our brother 
Litchfield, and his name cannot fade from memory, so long 
as the heavenly bodies continue to be an object of study and 
of admiration among men. 

Li forming this association, we follow the example of our 
brethren of similar institutions. Harvard, Yale, Columbia, 
Dartmouth : to be sure, their Almae Matres were venerable 
ladies when ours was born, but this need not deter us from en- 
tering bravely on our work, nor prevent as from enjoying as 
delightful re-unions as, according to repoi't, are participated 
in by the children of those aged mothers. 

Educated foreigners, visiting this country, remark that they 
find us. beyond any other people, engrossed in the pursuits of 
business, burdened by the affairs of life, anxious and careworn. 
The truth of this remark is seen among the merchants, the 
bankers, the mechanics and the professional men in our cities: 
and it is no less manifest in the numerous and important class 
in the country devoted to agriculture. We have too few Na- 
tional festal days, too few associations for the cheerful inter- 



12 RE-UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

change of genial and kindly feelings, too few meetings togetber 
for heart-culture. Every philanthropist will hail the formation 
of this and of kindred associations, as aids (slight though they 
be) in affording occasional relief from the absorbing cares of 
life, and especially of American life, and in calling out the 
gentler and kindlier feelings of our nature, and thus increas- 
ing the general happiness and promoting the public good. 

We meet here in fraternal union, many of us to renew friend- 
ships sadly rusted by the lapse of time, and all of us as broth- 
ers : some just entering on the stage of life, others having 
attained its meridian, and others again having reached the 
'• three score years and ten '' of the Psalmist. We meet, some 
of us. for the first time ; let us hope and anticipate that this 
first acquaintance will lead to friendships which will be endu- 
ring, and which will brighten the pathway of future life, and 
scatter at least some additional flowers among its thorns and 
brambles. 

We have made an auspicious beginning : our number is 
unexpectedly large, and I see now before me many distinguished 
in the various walks and avocations of life. This Association. 
I cannot doubt, will be permanent, and our future re-unions be 
still more numerously attended, increasing in interest and at- 
traction with each returning year. We shall all gladly co- 
operate in every measure calculated to increase the prosperity 
of the association. 

The fact which 1 stated as the cause of my selection as 
presiding officer, has the singular quality of exhausting its 
whole j)ower by its very first exercise, and tliougli from the nature 
of the case 1 must, the next year, and the next, and through all 
succeeding years of my life, possess this qualification, yet it no 
longer gives me preference. You will therefoi'e not fear 
the anomaly (the nion.strosity, I may call it in a Republic) of 
a President for life. Hereafter the field is open to all — and 
though none ol' you lived while Washington lived, and therefore 
none of you l)reathed. as I did. the air which he breathed, and 
have none of the inspiration derived from that circumstance, 
still, many of you possess every other qualification for the 
office, to w^hich I now bid farewell. 



ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT BROWN. 13 

I beg to mention in terms of high commendation the services 
of our brothers, Spaulding and Hall and Root, in forming this 
association and bringing about this happy re-union. We will 
not forget them. 

Ma}* we enjoy many more of these re-unions: and. till the 
next, and ever after, •• may your ways be ways of pleasantness 
and all your paths be peace." 



President Kirkland, then announced as the first regular 
toast of the evening, •' The Faculty. " and called upon the 
President of the College, Rev. Samuel G-ilm an Brown. D. I)., 
LL. D.. to respond. 

President Brown responded as follows : 

Mr. President and Grentlemen of the Alumni : 

I could wish that the duty of responding to this sentiment 
liad been assigned to some one else, to some one whose mem- 
orv of the College extended back to its earlier years, to 
some one who could have interested you with reminiscences of 
those earlier officers who sustained the institution by their un- 
wearied labors, who consecrated to it their learning, their skill, 
their strength, when it needed all to insure its success. Nor do I 
forget that this is ameetingof the J.Zm/m?.' of Hamilton, and that 
it is only through your courtesy and generosity — for which I beg 
.sincerelv to thank vou — that I am permitted to unite with you 
in the festivities of the evening. Will you allow me, then, to 
say that it seems to me to be a cause for mutual congratulation, 
that among the Colleges of this State, we are the first, if 1 am 
i-ightly informed, to follow the good custom which some of the 
kindred institutions of New England have inaugurated, of an- 
nually collecting their Alumni and friends residing in the vicin- 
itv of the great centres of wealth and power, to live over again 
for a few hours their former life, and polish the links of the 
chain of common interests and affection which should bind them 
together as .sons of a common mother, and bind them all more 
closely to her from whom they have received so much. 



14 KE-UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

But though others could speak more intelligently, perhaps, 
than I, no one, 1 ain sure, can recognize more fully the fact that 
the spirit of this sentiment goes near to the vei-y life and heait 
of the College. Certainly, its efficiency, its prosperity, its emi- 
nence, depend very largely upon those to whom has been com- 
mitted the burden of instruction, ot immediately watching oyer, 
counseling, stimulating, and guiding those who there seek for 
education. If the College has secured an honorable position, 
and attained a reasonable degree of prosperity, to them — the 
a.ctive faculty — to their efforts and labors, you owe it more than 
to anything else. How faithfully, how conscientiously, how 
successfully they have done their work, amidst many discour- 
agements, and some self-denial, and with very insufficient com- 
pensation, you who are here, and many beside you, scattered 
all over the land, are living witnesses. See what a work the 
College has done. Look once more over the grand list of the 
last triennial — follow its fourteen hundred Alumni — see how 
many have pursued the high studies of jurisprudence, how 
many have devoted themselves to the beneficent art of healing, 
how many have consecrated their lives to the great work of 
evangelizing the world, how many have given themselves to 
letters, to art, to practical business ; how many names there are 
on that Roll of Honor which none can look upon without a feel- 
ing of just pride. — Why, tlie College already has a historj- 
which nothing can efface, a noble fame which it is ours to sustain 
and enlarge. It is not. however, with the past that we have to 
deal quite so much as with the present and the future. Whether 
the College shall go on in an univjterrupted career of prosperity, 
and its maturer years shall only verify the promise of its youth, 
(iepends in a great measure upon ourselves. There are some 
elements in the prosperity of a public institution tor education 
which are patent, easily seen and appreciated. Among these are 
its positioii, whether oi" not it is easily accessible, or so situated 
as to meet the actual wants of a sufficiently large and intelli- 
gent community. Another is, undoubtedly, the completeness 
and thoroughness of the education which it affords, the compe- 
tency of its instructors, the ampleness of its means for scien- 
tific illustration, the state ol' its cabinets and libraries. An- 



ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT BKOWN. 15 

Other important element, Unquestionably, is found in the sound- 
ness of its moral and religious teachings. It must command, 
in these respects, the entire confidence of good men. Another, 
still, is to 1)6 found in the interest and tiffcction of its sons; on 
them hrst the College must depend for counsel, for encourage- 
ment, for substantial su})p()rt '\\> them tirst she must look for 
svinpath\ and succoi- if she is in jieril. tor a].)pr()\al and en- 
couragement if she be more than usually jtrosperous. 

It is quite unnecessary toattenqtt to apply these tests, or any 
othei- tests, to enable us to antici]jate the future of that College 
to which we owe special allegiance. But how can we hel]) re- 
membering how beautifully she sits upon her fair and fertile 
hills in the heart of the richest and most powerful State in the 
Union. What an am])le natural constituency she possesses in 
the rich counties which cluster al)out the Mohawk, in the north- 
ern regions wdiosc wealth and resources arc \"et not half devel- 
oped, in the thickly pco})led portions of the State furtlier 
south, and toward the greater lakes, in the anqjle territories 
farther towards the setting sun. whither our Alumni have so 
numerouslv gone, and from which they annually send back 
others to take their places. 

To be sure, this abundant region, once, so to speak, all her 
own, she shares now with many other colleges, some of them 
sustained bv strong denominational claims, some commanding 
the resources of an qjle wealth, encouraged and fostered by State 
endowments, and ottering new. perhaps easier, and. as it is at 
least affirmed, better methods for obtaining literary and scien- 
tific honors. Notwithstanding all this sharp competition, let us 
hope that Hamilton will maini:ain. and more than maintain, its 
traditional distinction. Colleges have not multi])lied, perhaps, 
much beyond the demands of the increasing population, although 
it seems to me that the true policy of those interested in thorough 
collegiate education will be tound in concentration rather than 
multiplication, in making the colleges that exist good ones 
instead ol' increasing the number of colleges imperfectly en- 
dowed — in concentration of the means of education in order 
to the widest diffusion of the best influence. 

We rest upon the old foundations, because they have been 



16 REUNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

proved bv long experience to be sound, and capable of bearing 
a goodly superstructure, lofty, varied, and beautiful. But we 
will not object to the experiments of others, nor refuse to accept 
any good result which may come from them. The College is 
flexible, and will adapt itself to every demonstrated want of 
the mind to be trained, or of the community which w^aits for 
men of learning and skill. We should hail with great joy the 
means of enlarging our scientific or literary culture. The Col- 
lege does not, in this respect, need the stimulus of example or 
of exhortation. She rather waits for the liberality of her friends 
to enable her to realize her well-considered plans. 

There are other topics on which I should be glad tu say a 
word or two. but T am already violating the excellent live 
minutes" rule, which has been so wiselv announced by the high- 
est authoi'itv : and I fear, besides, that in other respects I might 
violate the pro]irieties of the occasion. 

I think, however, that it will be for the gratification of all 
present if I should say, as I am happy to be able to say, that 
whatever be our deficiencies and wants, and they are many, 
yet in the means of carrying out successfully the great objects 
of education, which we have at heart, the College was never 
so well provided as at the present time. May she ever go on. 
under the smiles of a beneficent Providence, to fulfil more per- 
fectly her mission in the earth. Proud, as she well may be, of 
her noble body of sons, may they ever look back with increased 
affection and honor to their alreadv venerable Alma Mater. 



In responding to the second toast — "The Alumni"' — Pro- 
fessor Edward North said that he had been very busy during 
the day looking for needles — Hamiltonian needles — in this 
immense hay-mow of civilization, called New York. He was 
proud to report that these Hamiltonian needles were not 
difficult to find — they are all so sharp, and bright and busy. 
They are like the "'Cedar-rail Candy." which the irrepressible 
Baster used to sell to sub-freshmen on commencement day — 
•' warranted not to cut in the eye.'" When he saw the hopeful 



ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR NORTH. 17 

activity, influence and usefulness of these New York Alumni : 
when he saw how successful they all seemed to be in their 
different callings, he asked in a kind of despair, " are there no 
failures?" He was like the child in the cemetery, who after 
reading fifty eulogies on marble, asked her father where they 
buried the sinners. He supposed there might be some failures 
among the sons of Hamilton, but they were few when com- 
pared with the long roll of those who had honored their Alma 
Mater by faithfully upholding the interests of the Church and 
the State. 

The new Triennial Catalogue contained the names of 1487 
Alumni, who may be classified thus : — 

Clergymen 450 

Foreign Missionaries 13 

Lawyers 376 

Professional Teachers 91 

College Professors and Tutors 58 

College Presidents 6 

Authors of Published Books 64 

Members of Congress 17 

Judges and Surrogates 45 

Members of Constitutional Conventions 8 

Merchants 49 

Farmers 18 

Physicians 41 

Bankers 31 

Mayors of Cities 10 

Superintendents of Public Instruction 11 

While dissecting a prairie chicken, the President had called 
upon him — extra-judicially, as he thought — to decide how the 
words Alma Mater should be pronounced. He had ventured 
to reply that authorities pull diverse ways. He thought 
college graduates might be still more at variance, if they were 
to try to explain what they exactly mean by the words Alma 
Mater. Some of us might sa)-, she is the ideal mother of our 
manhood, that we all love to think of in our unselfish better 
moments as an inspiration to generous endeavor. To some, 
Alma Mater is the college as it seemed to us when our years 
were few and our hopes boundless ; when our first honor made 
the future a romance of heroic achievement ; when the world 



X8 KE-UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

was all before us where to choose, and our choice was to win 
stainless laurels and lay them at the feet of our gentle mother. 
Even in our harder moments, wlien we are cross, and critical 
and cold ; when we are fully alive to all the short-comings of 
human institutions. Alma Mater is still the college that we 
love; the college as it will be, when all needed reforms are 
carried out : when the clamorous wants are satisfied, and the 
long deferred hope becomes a rounded reality. 

The speaker went on to say that he had unfortunately 
been sent into the world without the gift of speech -making, 
and before the invention of prize debates. But Providence is 
said to help the lame and the lazy. He happened to have in 
his keeping an anapaestic production by some one afflicted 
with the cacoethes rhymendi^ which he would read as a part of 
his response to the second toast 

" There was an old Lady who lived in a Shoe, 

She had so many children she knew not what to do." 

She had hundreds of hearty, invincible Boys, 

Far out in the world, well-weaned from their toys. 

Making fortunes and fame, and lengthening the cords 

Of Church and of State with eloquent words. 

At home she had Seniors all quick with oration ; 
Brave Juniors, impatient to startle the nation ; 
Belligerent Sophs, giving Fresh tribulation. 
And filling her Shoe with wild perturbation. 
While she sounded the depths of self-abnegation. 

These stout Boys at home, a frolicsome crew. 

Plagued the soul of the Dame who lived in a Shoe. 

They plagued her at night with bonfires and horning : 

They plagued her with " fizzles" and " bolts" in the morning. 

Without clerical aid, they baptized the Tutor, 

And eloped with a Bell, whose gender was neuter. 

What with breaking of doors and windows and benches, 

And bottles surcharged with pestilent stenches, 

Her patience was tried with such violent wrenches. 

Once a year she forgot wliat her tongue was about, 

And uttered " D.D.s" — with the dashes left out. 

When she scolded her Boys, this great-hearted Mother, 

And begged them to cease from their deafening pother. 

These protean wags drew on innocent faces. 

And talked with supreme Mandevillian graces, 



ADDRESS OF PROFESSOR NORTH. 19 

Till herself v/as convinced they were born to command 
The laurels and love of a listening land. 

If she called them by name, each name had a spell 

To open the gates of the grim citadel 

Where Beauty, Renown and Happiness dwell ; 

And every name's owner, a merciless sphinx. 

Mocked with passwords and grips and mystical winks. 

There were chivalrous " SiGS," la creme de la ci'erne ; 
And bright " Alpha Delts," sure favorites of fame ; 
Hard-working " Psi-U's," riglit proud of their name ; 
" Chi-Psi's," born immortal, or bound to die game; 
Then blithe " Delta-U's," with high moral aim ; 
And deaconish " Deeks," who were never to blame ; 
And live " Alpha-Phi's," nursing scholarship's flame ; 
Last of all, armed " Neutrals," who loudly proclaim 
Their virtues and glories exactly the same. 
(Lo a triumph that Grant might seek, for variety ! 
Nine muses have rhymed nine lines with propriety. 
When each sings the praise of a rival society. 
Thus lion and lynx, ere millennial time, 
Are yoked at the bidding of Orphean rhyme.) 

No wonder the Dame had no end of surprises. 
That gifts so sublime should wear such disguises ; 
That high-soaring minds their ballooning should ballast 
With names from an alphabet deader than Sallust. 

* * * * 

Her children were hungry as colts out of clover. 

They clamored for dinner ere breakfast was over. 

Nor were they content with colored confections. 

Like mechanics and law and gay conic sections. 

She gave tliem broth seasoned with classical manna, 

With logic and lectures and chemistryana, 

With prizes and medals and sheepskin diplomas. 

Pledging Latin renown more lasting than Homer's. 

When broth lost its flavor, clean damask she spread. 

And brought them the best of New Hampshire Brown bread. 

Then she whipped them all round, for duty was first ; 
She wliipped them all round, with a heart like to burst ; 
She whipped them with fines called " extra contingent," 
With warnings and exiles awfully stringent. 
When mild lashes gave but a slight titillation. 
She whipped them at last with a sound " dissertation ;" 
Then sent them to bed in those snug breezy stalls. 
Named " Kirkland," and " Dexter" and "Hamilton" halls. 



20 RE-UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

Then hail to the Dame so plucky and true. 
Who gives every inch of her pinching old Shoe, 
Every sip of her broth, of her bread every roll, 
To comfort the boys that worry her soul. 

All hail to the Dame, whose voice on the Hill 
Wakes her sons to survey thought's kingdom at will ; 
And arms them to wield, in their glad golden youth, 
Ithuriel's spear and the falchion of truth. 
Then crown Alma Mater with honors forever ; 
Let her plenty and peace flow deep like a river ; 
Let her names be all sweet, Homeric and tender. 
Bright-throned, silver-footed, fair Learning's Defender. 



The beloved professor, as always, was greeted and accom- 
panied throughout with expressions of unfeigned delight and 
attachment. As the applause ceased, the Alumni found vent 
and voice for their enthusiasm in the following song : 

RETROSPECTIVE. 

Alumni ! now I'm going to sing 

A song that home will come. 
Of happy moments that I've knovm 

With my old College chum. 
How I wish that I could roam again 

Beside the Oriskany, 
Or with my chum could sit and talk 
Beneath the Popla^^t^ee. 
Chokus — 'T is many a night since first we sat 
Beneath the Poplar tree, 
And there made glad the hours with fun. 
And laugh and minstrelsy. 

Four years went by on pinions light, 

And then the distant hum 
' Of dull toil bade me leave my books 

And my old College chum. 
But I dream by night when all is still, 

That he comes back to me, 
And golden hours return again 

Beneath the Poplar tree. Cho. 

I might forget that I have reached 

The half of years threescore. 
When I can dream I see my chum, 

And hail him Sophomore, 



ADDRESS OF REV. DR. NELSON 21 

Would Alma Mater's grandsons cease 

To climb their father's knee, 
And tease me funny tales to tell 

About the Poplar tree. Cho. 



President Kirkland then announced as the third regular 
toast, '' The Clergy," and called for response upon Eev. Henry 
A. Nelson, D. D., of Lane Theological Seminary, Ohio. 

Eev Dr. Nelson said : 

Mr. President — In the spring of 1861 (" annus memorabilis") 
I was journeying eastward from my western liome, and had 
arrived, in the early morning, at Eochester. Detained therefor 
an hour, I was startled by the cry of a news-boy in the street : 
" Morning paper — all about the battle in St. Louis : '' a kind of 
cry not then so familiar as it afterwards became. From that 
paper I read the account of Captain Lyon's energetic action in 
capturing "Camp Jackson," the seasonable breaking up of a 
nest of treason, which, considering the time and the circum- 
stances, I deem one of the most sagacious and heroic acts of 
the war, resembling greatly, in moral courage, Major Anderson's 
removal of his force (without orders) to Fort Sumpter. 

By my absence from home, I missed the opportunity of watch- 
ing the movement of Lyon's regiments through the streets of 
St Louis, as my children did watch them, from the windows of 
a church tower, from which afterwards the flag of the Union 
floated, higher from the ground, I suppose, than it has ever 
elsewhere floated west of the Mississippi, cheering, I hope, 
many thousands of weary and dusty soldiers who marched in 
sight of it to fields from which so many of them never returned. 

On that May morning, in Eochester, I sat down to break- 
fast in the railroad refreshment room, in a state of some men- 
tal exhilaration occasioned by my admiration of Lyon's prompt 
and vigorous action. 

Sitting opposite me at the table was a gentleman who showed 
a disposition to be sociable. It was raining at the time, and he 



22 RE- UNION OF HAMILTON ALUMNI. 

commenced by remarking : "A very rainy time — the Connec- 
ticut Eiver is higher than it has been for years." I replied : 
" The Mississippi is not higher than usual." "Ah ! from what 
point on that lengthy river have you come ? " " From St. Louis." 
As soon as I had made this reply, I began to perceive that my 
New England questioner felt in doubt of me, and I amused 
myself by refraining a little while from showing my colors. 
Soon he said : " You know that in these days we have to feel 
around a man from your part of the country, a little, before we 
know just how to talk to him." I assured him that "feeling 
around" me was unnecessary, as I was '■'■Stars and Strijjes all 
over." This satisfied him on that point, but sharpened his 
curiosity in regard to my personality. So he resumed, " Are 
you in business in St. Louis ? " " Yes," I replied, " I am in 
business there ; I am pastor of one of the churches." " Why ! " 
exclaimed he, "you're the last man I'd take for a minister — 
where's your white cravat? " I replied, "I'm not on duty, as 
a minister, this morning ; you would not expect a military 
officer always to have his epaulettes on, would you? " " No," 
he said, " but jom don't look at all like a minister ; you don't 
look melancholy ." 

Whether the Committee of Arrangements have taken a dif- 
ferent view of my physiognomy, which has led them to assign 
me this position, this evening, I am not informed. However 
that may be, sir, I am happy, and believe that my clerical breth- 
ren are happy in the privilege of mingling thus with our 
brethren Alumni of other professions, in cordial interchange 
of friendly sentiments, and recalling memories pleasant and 
precious of Alma Mater. We recognize the real sisterhood of 
the learned professions ; and whether in preaching the Gospel, 
in defending the rights and liberties of men, in ministering to 
the sick, or in educating the young, we equally honor every 
man who faithfully serves God and his generation, in that 
sphere of labor to which he honestly thinks that God calls him. 

Of my own class (li40), the member who won the first honor 
(Sherwood) soon died. Of those then surviving, exactly one- 
half (£ e. nine men) became ministers of the Gospel. At our 
twenty -fifth anniversary, nearly all the class were together. The 



ADDRESS OF REV. DR. NELSON. 28 

deaths had been very few. Of all whom we knew to be living, 
there was no one who had not had a career in which his class- 
mates could take comfort and satisfaction. Dear Sherwood had 
died young, and with no stain on his high honor. But there 
was one, of as brilliant gifts as any in the class, whom I will 
not here name, who had gone to a grave of shame, as he would 
not, I believe, if never, on such a festive occasion as this, had 
he looked upon that which the wisest of men has warned us 
not to look upon " when it moveth itself aright." 

Sir, I feel sure that my friends present will allow me, with- 
out offence, to utter a conviction and a wish. I assuredly do 
so in utmost respect for those whose opinions may differ from 
my own. I will utter no extreme opinion. I onl}'- say that 
the absolute exclusion^ from all such festivities, of everything 
that can intoxicate, or that can excite an appetite for dangerous 
stimulants, would, doubtless, save some gifted young men from 
the sad descent and end of my most lamented class-mate. Is 
there any danger from which we desire the Faculty more care- 
fully to guard our sons and our younger brothers ? Will we 
not help them, by making them able to say, that we, in our 
festive gatherings, find the excitements of thought, and wit, 
and song, and speech, and the sight of each other's faces suf- 
ficient, without the excitement of wine ? Happy and thankful 
to testify to the freedom of this scene from all excess, yet 
knowing (as we all know so well) that fearful danger of col- 
lege life, and deeming the highest attainable security against it 
worth all needful self-denial, I most respectfully plead that 
total abstinence from all alchoholic drinks may be the rule ot 
the annual festivals which we now inaugurate. 

I have no money to give to my Alma Mater, but I deliber- 
ately say, I would give my right arm to-night, if the sacrifice 
would secure the dear youth who are to be her future Alumni 
from the temptation which comes to them from the belief that 
alcoholic stimulants are necessary to the high and worthy en- 
joyment of such social festivities. Most respectfully, yet most 
earnestly, I entreat their fathers and brothers to set the example 
most powerful to dispel that illusion. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



029 911 138 6 



24 



RE-UNION OP HAMILTON ALUMNI. 



The next regular toast announced was " The Bench and 
Bar." To this, Hon. Joseph S. Bosworth, LL. D., had been 
expected to respond. In his absence, caused by pressing mat- 
ters at home, President Kirjkland called upon Prof. Theodore 
W. DwiGHT, LL. D., who responded as follows. 

Mr. Dwight said : 

A recent able legal writer (Dr. Maine) has shown that prog- 
ress in the law is made b}' the employment of legal fictions. 
To this some ill-natured person has added, that individual law- 
yers certainly make progress in their business by means of the 
use of fiction. However that may be, I know of no fiction 
used among lawyers so stupendous as that which your com- 
mittee has employed in suggesting that under the name of Joseph 
S. Bosworth lurks that of Theodore W. Dwight. There is 
a gentleman present (referring to Mr. C. P. Kirkland) who 
could have most fully responded to this sentiment. We have 
with us to night a man whose practice as a lawyer embraces a 
large part of the history of the Bar of the State. His acquain- 
tanceship included nearly all its great jurists, such as Ambrose 
Spencer, Kent, Walworth, Bronson and Denio, its noted 
and successful practitioners, such as the Henrys, Talcotts, 
Ogdens, Williams, Spencers and Beardsleys, as well as the 
prominent and able men of our own time. Scarcely a case of 
any importance for thirty or more years appears in our higher 
Courts, in which he was not engaged in opposition to some lead- 
ing practitioner. I can well remember, as in my early years I 
turned over volumes of cases in the reports of our Courts, and 
.saw the continually recurring name of our friend, how my 
youthful ambition was fired, and how I looked forward with 
ardent aspirations to the day when my name might appear as 
iiis then did. Now, in the fullness of years, he brings the same 
earnestness and generous zeal which characterized him as a 
iurist, to the support of the government., to historical inquiry, 
to the promotion of great philanthro])ic enterprizes and of 
general education — laboring in all directions for the progress 
of humanity, and diffusing every where the mellow light of a 
declining sun. Such a man could have most worthily repre- 
sented the sentiment to which I am now expected to respond. 



